Intel’s Jack Weast shares new lessons about robo cars. For one: they’ll fail if they don’t tell us clearly and consistently what they are up to, and why.

Intel may have missed out on the smartphone boom, but it’s determined to get a foothold in smart cars. In January, the company unveiled a line of in-car computer systems called Intel GO; in March, it announced the purchase of Mobileye, an Israeli company that makes sensors and cameras for driverless vehicles. Now, Intel is collaborating with BMW on an autonomous car platform, which the companies hope to eventually license to other carmakers—an automotive version of the “Wintel” (Windows and Intel) duo that dominated the PC business.